In a number of applications, individuals extract the active ingredients of plant materials such as tobacco, herbs, oil and other beneficial materials (hereafter ‘herbs’) to treat a variety of conditions. Typically, the extracted ingredients are then delivered via inhalation to the individual. A vaporizer is a device used to extract the active ingredients of herbs for inhalation. Vaporization involves heating a material so that its active compounds boil off into a vapor. As opposed to smoking, i.e., burning, vaporization avoids the production of irritating, toxic, and carcinogenic by-products as no combustion occurs.
Vaporizers sometimes utilize a convection type heating element to heat air to a temperature sufficient to extract an herb's active ingredients. To remove an herb's active ingredients, the necessary air temperatures generally ranges from about 275 to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. The temperature varies depending on the type of herb to be vaporized.
User of vaporizers often prefer the devices to be small and portable. In this regard, users tend to prefer vaporizers having a small form factor similar in size to a pen or electronic cigarette. Further, the recent proliferation of high-power density batteries (e.g., lithium ion) has facilitated producing such small form factor/compact vaporizers. However, due to the high-temperatures required for vaporization, substantial thermal insulation is required to prevent the exterior of the device from reaching unsafe temperatures. That is, insulation between the heated air and the exterior of the device is required. However, such insulation can increases the minimum size of the device, as a thick thermal barrier may be required to create a necessary temperature gradient.